Friday, July 13, 2018

Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) Party Leadership meeting at the National Headquarters in Quezon City.

In the meeting were Party Chairman R/Gen. Abubakar Mangelen, Party President Atty. Jayvee Hinlo, Party Secretary General R/Gen. Thompson Lantion, Special Advisor to the President Elmer Francisco, Membership Committee Chairman Eddie Dangcal, Party Legal Counsels Election Lawyer Atty. George Briones and Litigation Lawyer Atty. Leo Dumas and other national party leaders.

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Almer Lacorte earns about $20 a day driving a jeepney between Manila’s Santa Ana district and Rizal Park, taking 20 passengers at a time in his vehicle on facing bench seats.

With their chrome finish and hand-painted exteriors, jeepneys provide distinctive flash and colour to Manila’s streets, and are a staple of the Philippine capital’s woefully overtaxed transport system — short-hop vehicles that get commuters between their homes and buses or trains.

Jeepneys get their names from the vehicles US troops left behind after the second world war, which local entrepreneurs refitted with passenger cabins and painted slogans such as “King of the Road”, and are an indelible a part of Philippine folklore.

But now President Rodrigo Duterte’s government is launching a long-delayed drive to remove older jeepneys such as Mr Lacorte’s from the road and replace them with lower-emission ones, including cleaner diesel versions or electric-powered “e-jeepneys”. It has set a target of removing all jeepneys 15 years or older from the roads by 2020.

The government says jeepneys poison the air and contribute to traffic gridlock in Manila, one of the world’s most congested cities, according to the Google-owned mapping and navigation app Waze.

“The one reason why modernisation was not really pushed during past administrations, for more than 50 years, is because they [drivers] are a political force,” said Thomas Orbos, an official in the Philippine Department of Transportation. “The jeepney sector alone is a political force to reckon with, and we’ve taken it on headfirst, and we know what we’re up against.”

The Duterte administration, in proceeding with the upgrade, is portraying itself as championing the needs of millions of working Filipinos who spend hours stuck in traffic every day, against what it says are vested interests. Poor public transport was one of several popular grievances on which the Philippine leader campaigned to win the presidency two years ago.

“Son of a bitch, suffer hardship and hunger, I don’t care,” Mr Duterte said in a characteristically aggressive speech last year after jeepney drivers who opposed the changes staged a transport strike. He also threatened to “drag away” recalcitrant drivers from their vehicles.

But jeepney drivers, most of whom subsist on modest wages, and operators — small businesses that typically own one or two vehicles — have described the upgrade as part of a war by the administration on the urban poor.

“The president has contempt for poor people asserting their rights, and jeepney drivers are a challenge for him,” said George San Mateo, head of Piston, a transport workers’ group who were involved in organising a strike last year. “This programme will push small operators out of business.”

The Ibon Foundation, a public policy think-tank, has urged the Philippine government to undertake jeepney modernisation without jeopardising drivers’ livelihood or commuters’ access to them as a mode of transport, as part of a plan that takes all interests into account.

“We have too many cars, but we don’t have enough roads,” said Rosario Bella Guzman, an Ibon director. “The government is looking at the jeepney as the culprit.”

Mr Orbos, the government official, denied jeepney drivers were being scapegoated. “They are not being singled out,” he said.

According to the transportation department, there are 178,000 jeepneys in the Philippines, 90 per cent of which are at least 15 years old.

The government’s plan is to cut the number of routes, and of vehicles vying for business. Fleet operators will be offered subsidised loans to buy new jeepneys, and drivers moved to a standard monthly salary and benefits, rather than hand-to-mouth wages.

Manila’s two main family-owned producers of jeepneys say they are ready for the switch.

Sarao Motors has produced a boxy, modern “e-jeepney” that resembles a small bus.

Francisco Motors, which has been making jeepneys since 1947, is showing its own demonstration electric jeepney in Manila’s Rizal Park, painted in classic multi-hued style, with clenched-fist logos — Mr Duterte’s signature gesture — on the front.

“If you take away the classic design of the jeepney, it is like taking away part of our identity as Filipinos,” said Elmer Francisco, the company’s chief executive. “Our president would like this to be preserved.”

Mr Lacorte, the jeepney driver, voices doubts that either he or his passengers will be able to make the shift. Most jeepney passengers are poor people whose main concern is to get from point to point at the cheapest price, usually to transport goods or produce.

“We don’t want the electric type, because they won’t work here, especially on rainy days,” he said.

Panelists composed of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency experts from all over the world discussing everything there is to learn about the various topics concerning the future of FinTech or Financial Technology and decentralization.

With our main partner for charging stations for our electric jeepneys, Aboitiz Power and QEV Philippines represented by their General Manager Audrey Peñaranda

Welcoming and thanking everyone who took part in making the full electric Francisco Passenger Jeepney a reality. You all know who you are! 👍🏼

Many people have doubted that we could actually do it, but a handful of people believed in my dream of making our world a better place to live in by turning the classic and iconic Philippine workhorse, the Jeepney, into full electric that also conformes with the new Philippine National Standards for safety and public convenience.

Friday, October 6, 2017

Join us in our journey through the production of the new Francisco Passenger Jeepney that will serve the Filipino commuting public for decades to come.

It’s high time to change the signage... 👍🏻

Inspecting the Prototype X production area together with my cousin and long time Francisco plant manager, Kuya Caloy.

With ASec Mulong and Marissa of DTI-BOI CARS Program (Department of Trade and Industry - Board of Investment - Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program) ironing out details of the short, medium and long term plans for the Philippine Made Vehicles including the new Francisco Passenger Jeepney. We also watched for the first time the video presentation of the new Philippine National Standard for the Jeepney. 👊🏽

It is very rare that we have government agencies work together supporting local manufacturers for the good of the people. Ironing out details to make the new Jeepney more affordable to the operators/drivers that would in turn keep the fare as it currently is that would benefit the commuting public.

It is very easy to make Jeepneys whether the old ones or the new ones. Francisco had been doing it for the past 70 years. The challenge at this day and time is the cost. Some companies sacrifice quality to earn more profit. Some companies don’t mind the price as long as they profit big from this business opportunity. Our objective here is to lower the costs of production from all angles to make it more affordable to the common Juan. We will also provide more jobs (both directly and indirectly) for Filipinos at home!

The bonus side of this meeting is that we did not only iron out details for the Jeepney modernization but we also opened the door to the Ship Building industry that BOI will create in collaboration with PEZA at PHIVIDEC Misamis Oriental. Seeking the help of our good public servants who are board members of PHIVIDEC Cong Benjo Benaldo, Col Alexander Noble and Administrator Mayor Franklin M. Quijano!

Even more jobs and investments for the Filipino people! 👊🏽

The painted version of the classic design of Francisco Passenger Jeepney... NOT YET our new prototype. This still has the old body. But, take note of the trademark rectangular headlights and stainless grille.

In short, this is the “Before” picture. 👍🏻

I’m so excited for our NEW assembly line in a NEW location utilizing NEW manpower for the NEW design with the NEW specifications combined with NEW technology in powertrain made by an OLD but top European brand in the automotive industry together with the OLD name in the jeepney industry and the OLD plant manager.

Monday, September 18, 2017

Thank you so much to my good friend, Cesar Cabualan - Senior Vice-President and Division Head for FASD of CEPALCO for inviting me as your guest speaker this afternoon.

Financial Planning is extremely important for all workers. An employee who is financially secured will perform at his/her best compared to someone who is having financial problems at home.

With this, we believe that it is very important for each and every Filipino to be knowledgable even just about the basics of financial planning as a financially literate population is a backbone of a strong economy.

As what Sir Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister during WWII) said, "He who fails to plan, plans to fail."